Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson will be out of the country through July 31, helping to deliver a message of "peace, youth and the environment" by bike to Turin, Italy, host of the 2006 Winter Olympics. Accompanied by his girlfriend, Tracy Lyon, the mayor left Monday and will start the trek to Turin from Lyon, France, this week. He joins Deputy Mayor Rocky Fluhart and four others - Fluhart's wife, Gretchen; Anderson's friends and bike racers, Bill and Celia Underwood; and Sarah Wright, executive director of Utah Clean Energy. While both Rockys are out of the country, Anderson's chief of staff, Sam Guevara, is acting as mayor. The tradition behind the trip was started by 1994 Winter Olympic host Lillehammer, Norway, which sent a message to Nagano, Japan, the 1998 host. Nagano, in turn delivered one to Salt Lake City in 2002. Salt Lake City's message - it calls for a "peaceful, safe and healthy world" and discusses global warming - must be delivered, per the tradition, without the use of fossil fuels. The message was biked to the Atlantic coast, where it was placed aboard a yacht and traveled to Belgium. That's where Fluhart and his crew picked it up. The team is scheduled to deliver the letter to Turin Mayor Sergio Chiamparino on July 28. The trip will cost $175,000 - $25,000 from the city budget and the rest from a bevy of sponsors. The city's portion will help fund a documentary of the entire trip. The sponsors are paying for food and lodging for the mayor, Wright, the Fluharts and Underwoods. The mayor's air fare also was covered, while the other team members paid their own way. As Anderson's guest, Lyon must pay for all her costs, according to the city. To track the mayor's progress and read the city's letter, go to http://www.slc2torino.com. - Heather May